[Miami Herald] Shaq-Marion Deal In Works (UPDATE: Done Deal)

Many people don't realise how this trade is good for the Suns.
They look more like contenders now, they have a big inside presence, Marion wasn't fitting at all. Steve Kerr made the right choice (Steve Nash is also getting old), and don't be surprised if this team wins the championship.
Plus Shaq is really motivated, and him being back in the WEST is good news for all the fans.
I'm really happy about this trade, and honestly, I really prefer the Suns now.

This is just a great trade by Phoenix, Steve Kerr knows what he is doing, and the Suns have all the pieces to win it all this year.

 

Yes - the Suns did a move that was considered "outside the box". That is why it is so hard for the normal person to understand that this was a good move.

 

Why do you think that Desert Scar is joking when he was stating the truth?

 

Great point - there was an article on espn.com by Marc Stein that talks about this. Having Shaq is going to bring in so much more revenue for the Suns from a marketing standpoint.


Can You Dig It? Five Things To Know About The Shaq Deal
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
PHOENIX -- Shaquille O'Neal's introductory news conference as a member of the Phoenix Suns -- you'll still probably need to reread that line a few times to believe it -- isn't until Thursday morning.

Yet we can fill the void by passing along Five Things You Don't Know about the Suns' stunning trade for Shaq, all of which were gleaned here Wednesday when this gargantuan transaction was officially completed … and completely overshadowed one of the greatest games you could ever wish to see. (Or so we're told).

1. The Suns pulled the trigger because of Steve Nash far more than Pau Gasol.

Nash turns 34 on Thursday. There will be no alarm bells sounded in Phoenix to commemorate the occasion, because Nash has hushed pretty much every doubt about his durability by playing at an MVP level for the past three-plus seasons, but his bosses are realistic. They know that a team relying heavily on Nash and Grant Hill will have only a couple more cracks at the championship that has eluded this franchise for four decades.

"We've got a few years here," Suns president Steve Kerr acknowledged, "where we can really make a push."

So …

The trade might look like a direct reaction to the Lakers' grand theft of Gasol from Memphis, but the Suns knew long before that heist that defending the post and surrendering second-chance points has been their downfall in the playoffs. This decision was made largely because Phoenix decided that it could no longer wait to change a locker-room dynamic that Nash has openly questioned at times, especially when a morale-booster like Shaq suddenly became available.

Nash spoke in glowing terms of Shawn Marion after the deal was announced -- "I'm a big fan of Shawn's," he said -- and has never specifically mentioned names when lamenting the Suns' occasional dips in togetherness and effort. But knowledgeable sources say that the Suns' power brokers, feeding off Nash's growing frustration and exasperation, lost confidence in the group's ability to win it all without some sort of shake-up. They stopped believing that the Suns' pre-Shaq core could overcome the behind-the-scenes negativity that typically involved either Marion or Amare Stoudemire without trading one of them away.

Now that it's finally happened? The giddy Suns instantly gave off a vibe Wednesday that O'Neal's impact on team morale might be as big as anything he'll provide on the floor, even in the unlikely event he winds up being the interior defensive force they've dreamed about. It's the sort of Shaq Effect that never would have been possible had Marion been moved in a more conservative swap for, say, Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, as the Suns and Jazz discussed early in the season.

"I just think we need a little lift," Nash conceded. "We probably can improve our chemistry. … At some point I think there needs to be a healthy balance between being excited and having a spirit about us and at the same time holding each other accountable. I don't think that balance, for the most part, has been [there]."

Said Kerr: "[O'Neal's] presence is magnetic and that is a big part of it."

2. Mike D'Antoni was the first Suns voter to push for the deal … and Kerr was actually the last one to sign off.

This will be recorded as Kerr's first major move since assuming control of the Suns' front office and maybe the biggest trade he'll ever make. He knows he's "on the line" with how it turns out.

"If it works, I'm a genius," Kerr said. "If it doesn't, I'm a moron, I guess."

Maybe that's why Kerr was the hardest to convince.

It was easy to assume that this deal was somewhat forced on D'Antoni; welcoming Shaq could be saying goodbye to a fair bit of the speed and abandon that has defined the Suns since D'Antoni and Nash hooked up for the 2004-05 season. But Phoenix privately insists -- and Kerr alluded to it publicly as well -- that D'Antoni was actually ready to make the trade as soon as it was presented to him.

It appears that Kerr was the apprehensive one, having closely followed the loud skepticism all season about how much O'Neal has left. That's why he insisted that O'Neal subject himself to a lengthy evaluation Wednesday afternoon with the Suns' doctors and training staff before the deal went through, during which those experts convinced Kerr that they can indeed nurse Shaq back to a healthy place like they've maintained with Nash and Hill.

"I wasn't going to do this," Kerr said, "unless I felt really good about it from a medical standpoint."

Said D'Antoni: "The question mark was, 'Does he have any gas left in the tank?' And I think you guys have debated it now for 24 hours and come up with 'no.' And I think you're wrong.

"I do find it kind of funny … first we can't win without a big man and once we get a big man, now we can't win with a big man. I do think he's not going to come to Phoenix and lay an egg."

3. Financial concerns? The Suns will make money from Shaq's arrival.

Suns fans are still smarting from what happened in the summer, when Phoenix gave Seattle two future first-round picks to convince the Sonics to take on the salary of its only dependable defender in the post -- Kurt Thomas -- in order to reduce the club's luxury-tax bill.

Memories of that move are a big reason so many executives and pundits around the league reacted with such skepticism when the rumblings of a Shaq-to-Phoenix deal began to spread Tuesday night. It was a reflex reaction to presume that Suns owner Robert Sarver would never sanction the acquisition of a thirtysomething 7-footer on the decline with two years and $40 million left on his contract after this season.

Yet we were all wrong. For starters, Sarver revealed that the talks between the teams originated at ownership level, stemming from conversations with Miami's Micky Arison.

There's also the not-so-small matter of the likely spike in the Suns' merchandise sales and TV ratings that comes with adding a player of Shaq's stature. Combine that with the fact that extending Marion's contract or trading him for someone else with a longer contract -- along with keeping Marcus Banks -- would have eventually cost Phoenix more than bringing O'Neal in, and you can understand Sarver's glee.

"This is money in the bank," one rival executive suggests.

4. The Suns love that so many outsiders are down on the trade.

Or so they claim.

Kerr, in particular, couldn't wait to share the story about a meeting Wednesday with D'Antoni and other Suns staffers during which O'Neal pointed up at a nearby TV that flashed some unflattering results from an ESPN.com poll.

Kerr quoted Shaq as saying: "Seventy-one percent of people in America apparently think this is a bad deal. That makes me angry. And I play better when I'm angry."

D'Antoni drew laughs with his follow-up wish that the poll figure soon increases to 80 percent, but you can understand why he was only half-kidding. O'Neal has missed 14 games already this season with a hip problem that is likely to delay his debut in a Suns uniform until next week at the earliest. As he intimated with his "egg" comment above, D'Antoni and Co. are naturally hoping that the scores of naysayers nationwide will help get Shaq into I'll-Show-You condition.

The Suns are already convinced that O'Neal will be a mentor to Stoudemire, whom he's known since Amare was 13. They know Shaq would dearly love to break his tie with Tim Duncan and win a fifth ring … and just getting out of the West would establish O'Neal as the first player in league history to take four different teams to the NBA Finals.

But they also know that Shaq has yet to prove to scores of doubters that he can find an offensive niche with a team that loves to shoot in seven seconds or less … or that he can stay out of foul trouble when the Suns absorb their usual punishment on guard penetrations … or that his body will cooperate with his 36th birthday just a month away.

"If you look at all the areas we're not good at, [O'Neal] adds a lot to those areas," Nash said. "He's an experienced champion. He's got the size we've always lacked. He can defend the post and rebound and block shots.

"I think, deep down, there's probably [Suns players] who have doubts. All of us are trying to figure this out together. … [But] I just think that [O'Neal is] a winner. I think he's got a lot of pride and I think he likes to show people what he can [still] do."

5. The Suns will nonetheless miss Marion more than they think.

My original reason for coming to Phoenix this week was seeing Chris Paul and Nash duel. I was barely able to take in a dribble Wednesday night because of all the Shaq-related hoopla, but it didn't escape my attention that the Suns tied an unwanted club record with only one steal in their epic 132-130 loss to New Orleans in double overtime.

That's one steal in 58 minutes.

Maybe Marion was indeed a handful in the locker room because of his persistent belief that he was underappreciated and underpublicized. Maybe rooting out his unhappiness and the unneeded tension it created will be addition by subtraction for the Suns, even if it takes Shaq some time to make an on-court impact.

Yet what you can't deny is that Marion was the only Sun who could guard all five positions … and that the Suns don't appear to have a perimeter defender who can comfortably replace him alongside Raja Bell … and that Phoenix seemingly had some pretty decent chemistry where it matters most. On the floor.

So we're about to find out if Marion is as critical to the Suns' success as he's been claiming (in vain, he'd argue) for all these years.

"Shawn is fantastic [defensively with] the different players he can cover and the amount of court he can cover with his quickness and athleticism," Nash said.

"There's no doubt that the jury's out. We'll see how this works. But it's pretty tough to pass up on a player like Shaq."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.



link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080207

 

I understand what they are thinking trying to get a post presence. But shaq is not that good anymore, a ton of his quickness/explosiveness is gone, and that makes him nothing special on either end of the court.

Nobody is saying don't trade marion, I just think there were deals that give them just as much of a post presence that better fit the run/gun style.

gasol, dalembert, okafor are 3 guys that they probably could have obtained and they all give them a more athletic post player who can have just as much impact on the defensive end as shaq without his athleticism.

 

Keep in mind the supposed "marketing" help Shaq gives the Suns only applies if they win. Otherwise it's a boondoggle.

 

"Marion was the offensive weak link for the Suns and their worst finisher" is the truth?

Roflcakes.

 

OK, I can see why they traded for Shaq. But, this came straight from Steve Kerr's mouth on TNT:

"We had to use Shawn in the trade because of the salaries..

...and we feel Grant Hill brings us the same on defense as Shawn...

I've never smoked crack, but if I did, I now know where to get some.

 

Amare no longer has to waste energy on defense trying to defend guys like Duncan and Yao. Suns no longer have to double guys like Duncan and Yao. Suns finally have a presence in the half court, very important for the playoffs. It's either going to be a very good trade or a very bad trade. But I think the Suns add a new dimension to their already potent high-powered offense.

 

A few of you know that I live in Phoenix. I can tell you that the people out here, the basketball fans in Phoenix, are LIVID. This is an awful trade for the suns. Marion was just about the only Sun who played any defense at all. The guy was all over the court, steals, loose balls, D'ing up the opponents best defender, rebounding, shooting 3s.

For Shaq? Are you kidding me? Shaq was old and slow a few years ago when the Heat won the championship, he was done after that year, D Wade won that championship, not Shaq. Shaq is old, injured, slow and done.

The heat got a steal, this is unbelievable.

 

I think it's more of post defense that shaq brings against teams like SA, Houston, and now the Lakers and not so much the hustle type of defense. They believe they can probably make up for shawn's activity but with marion they can't defend the post w/o wearing out Amare.

 

Steve Kerr is officially an idiot. Good job, good job

 

You know, Shaq will fit really well in this offense. By the time he gets to mid court, they will have already shot the ball. So Shaq can just jog right back to play defense. Save him half the energy each game because he only needs to run half the length of the court.

 

All the opponent has to do is foul him as soon as he gets the rebound. If I was the opposing coach, I would crash the offensive boards like mad (something we are good at) and instruct my bigs to go crazy on Shaq as soon as they got in the bonus because it actually makes Phoenix less efficient if you foul Shaq and send him to the line. I would imagine a lot of team are going to attack Phoenix in this manner as soon as they pick up their 5th foul.

 

Dude - you actually think that Marion is that great of an offensive player?? LOLerskates!!!

I guarantee you that his points per game is going to go down as he will miss Nash tremendously.

And I will be the first one to post here, gloating after the Suns win the title as I am getting sick of hearing from people like you on how this is such a terrible trade. And I will also be the first to post here, admitting I was wrong if the Suns don't at least get past the Spurs/make it to the Finals.

 

I don't doubt any of this, but a lot has to be said about getting rid of a guy who was a cancer in the clubhouse, no matter what he brought to the table. Plus I think they are a lot of people who are selling Shaq short. Is it that hard for people to get their minds wrapped around the possibility of Shaq fitting in the Suns offense?? Apparently, it is for some reason.

 

Hmm, you don't suppose that he's been possessed by the spirit of Carroll Dawson do you?

 

It's not about trading Marion. It's no secret that Marion wanted out. But many of us expected that Marion could get you something better than Shaq. You trade away your second or third best player. You get a worse player back with a worse contract. This is mind-boggling.

 

Perfect!

 

I have been away but I'll add....

I said Marion was a worse finisher than Amare or Shaq (both extremely efficient close to the basket), not the worst on the team. Additionally, Marion isn't as heady with the ball/good handles as Hill or even Diaw. More importantly, Marion has been their worst volume 3 point shooter over the last few years. Put these things together--and yes he has been a weak link in their half court offense--particularly in high stakes time. If Shaq can be 75% he increases half court offensive efficiency tremendously (and an added bonus is should improve rebounding because of the size he brings to the C spot and Amare will to the PF spot) .

Again, I very well can see what the Suns are thinking. Doesn't mean it will work, but that team with Nash-Amare-Marion as the core was not going to win the title,so they took a risk.